Need DAB and iPhone on Hifi, what options?

I like my current amp and speakers but they are ancient so have no iPhone dock and the tuner is FM only. In my ideal world I'd buy a special box that has a DAB tuner and iPhone 4s connector. I don't think it exists.

I tried using the headphones socket to a a set of audio leads from the iPhone but the quality is terrible. Equally streaming DAB is hit and miss from the iPhone as well with long pauses when the kids download porn from the internet. Any ideas?

You could just buy a DAB tuner to replace the fm tuner and then get an iPod dock that plugs into the Apple connector on the iPod and has it's own DAC to convert the digital signal before feeding it into the aux input on your amp via the standard co-ax leads. Pure do one, as do Cambridge Audio although not sure if the latter outputs an analogue signal or not.

Cougar - Moderator
I tried using the headphones socket to a a set of audio leads from the iPhone but the quality is terrible.
I'm confused as to why it's "terrible"; either there's something wrong with the connection / source audio, or you have exacting standards which aren't going to be met.

Seems to be my night for disagreeing with Cougar! I found this to be the case, but the 30 pin connector to RCA is WAY better than the headphone jack to RCA - don't know why.

Ok, the 30 pin to RCA is £35 but you can then plug your iPhone into the hifi and get great sound out of it. And you can also stream video from your phone to the television this way and get the audio through the hifi too. Maybe not an issue at home but sure is good on holiday (not as good as HDMI out though)

The 30 pin socket will probably be a line out, so just a buffered audio output stage there. The headphone out will obviously have a gain stage so will be slightly noisier electrically speaking (and thus lower quality) but there should not be an inherent buzz. I suspect your cable isn't making a decent earth connection. Mini jack connections can be a bit shonky.

Cheap and easy to get an old-style Apple dock these days - they output line-level on 3.5mm. Richer Sounds do a £70 DAB/FM tuner.

I've just replaced an older system that broke with a Denon Ceol Piccolo, which is ace. Little shoebox-style system but with no CD. iPod/iPhone dock on the top, does Apple AirPlay, streams internet radio (all the usual DAB stations do internet streams too, usually in better quality), Spotify, etc. Very slick indeed. Superfi and others are doing them for less than £200 now without speakers.

why do you want music from the iphone specifically? could it not be replicated on your laptop?

i ask as i too have an old fm tuner, so play internet radio (all dab stations) and all my music through a squeezebox. laptop has the server software on it and all my music. and ive also got the logitech app on my phone so can use that as a controller.

I found this to be the case, but the 30 pin connector to RCA is WAY better than the headphone jack to RCA - don't know why.

Thinking about it, there is a logic to that. Aside from the gain / line as others have said, the headphones will be analogue, the 30-pin may be digital? I can't immediately find confirmation of this either way, other than comments that the 30-pin to Lightning adapter contains a DAC which may imply that it might.

Still. Either of those may explain why the base connector might yield better results than the headphone jack. It doesn't really explain why it's "terrible" though. You're connecting an amplified source to a line in so buzzing might imply perhaps that your audio level is too low / high for the input, too high would distort and too low would mean you're amplifying more noise as well as signal; or as RichPenny suggests maybe there's a bad earth somewhere?

i ask as i too have an old fm tuner, so play internet radio (all dab stations) and all my music through a squeezebox. laptop has the server software on it and all my music. and ive also got the logitech app on my phone so can use that as a controller.

I think this would come close, main problem is the quality of the internet streamed radio which on my iPhone with wifi drops off every now and then (appears to be buffering).

I recently bought the most expensive headphone to RCA cable that Maplin sell (about £12) and it made a huge difference to the sound quality when playing my laptop through the amp.

For DAB, you can't beat a Tesco £25 Technika portable. And with a couple of sets of rechargeables you can also get surprisingly good reception driving along in the car. I plug mine into the car stereo and can listen to 6 music on the move.

I use the headphone jack to RCA no problem (iPhone 4S and iPad1), perhaps my hearing and quality standards aren't up to your level OP. I also have an Apple TV but I find it drops out on occasion due to poor in house wifi (and cannot change router and power line ethernet already used) so I just plug the phone into the stereo for music.

I had an early DAB radio and thought it a total waste of £100 and totally redundant now with streaming content. Perhaps they are cheaper now.

Cougar - This Technika Portable is the one I got. I use it most days on site and it's only got about 6" of antenna left but still seems to get a signal. I can stick an old spoke in if I'm in a poor reception area. They do a newer white one too.

All DAB radios eat batteries but I've got a load of AA rechargeables.

Back to the original, I have a TV next to my amp and listen to 6 music at home through that. I recently bought a £50 ROKU box which is amazing and will stream music (and videos and photos) from my phone or laptop to the TV and then through the amp. Spotify too.

Mr Woppit, it is a Technics SU-x01 with Gale speakers. The reason I like the amp is that it has surround sound outputs and I have cabled behind the sofa speakers for it. I am aware the amp is probably shite but I like it.

The TV idea is how I am currently set up but the TV is on the blink big time. Might be a better idea to upgrade and get an Apple TV at the same time. Shame as I like HiFi separates, for no logical reason at all.

One very cheap way of getting DAB on an old av amp that I have thought about but not implemented yet is to use an old set top box which are dirt cheap and generally have stereo outputs. Lack of display would be a problem if you want to hop around radio stations, but I don't.